The Legendary Dobbs was established in 1974 as JC Dobbs, and has served as Philadelphia's most iconic Rock N Roll bar ever since. Dobbs' stage has hosted many notable acts, including Bo Diddley, George Thorogood & The Delaware Destroyers, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, Tool, and many many more.
The Legendary Dobbs continues this tradition of giving independent, emerging, and re-emerging talent a stage to highlight their abilities, with great sound & lights on 2 stages - one upstairs in a more intimate setting, and one downstairs on the main floor.
Discover a Legend at The Legendary Dobbs!

Connie's Ric Rac is not a bar with a stage.
we are a venue......that serves drinks.
what we are
Connie's Ric Rac is an event venue located on The 9th Street Italian Market in South Philadelphia, presenting local and regional music, comedy and performing arts. The Ric Rac has been a mainstay in the Philly scene since it's inception in 2006. It's underground, DIY atmosphere has drawn the likes of prominent Philadelphia artists such as Amos Lee, Joe Jack Talcum (Dead Milkmen), Black Landlord, as well as national act comedians Matt Besser (Upright Citizens Brigade), Ali Faranakian (Pit Theatre, NYC) and the quickly rising Chris Gethard.
why we are here
It's simple - we love music, art and comedy. We're proud to play host to a variety of forms of entertainment, whether it be a burlesque circus show, punk rock karaoke, or a night of acoustic singer songwriters. Our main product is on the stage, not in our refrigerators. On any given night you can catch the hottest emerging artists in the Philly music and comedy scene. We are also known for presenting events such as Johnny Showcase & The Left Lucy Cabaret, Dead Flowers' Smoking Gun Revue and genre specific showcases.
how we got here
Back in the day, Connie's Ric Rac was a shop owned by Connie Tartaglia with a variety of curious objects; really more of a "bric-a-brac". Her and husband Joe "Joe Brown" Tartaglia were Italian Market lifers who always had a fine appreciation for the arts, which were passed down along to their two sons, Joe Brown, Jr., and Frankie. With the explosion of the internet and companies like eBay in the late 90's, Connie sold out her entire inventory by the early 2000s. The building sat vacant for a while, and there were plans for a laundromat......
"The windows and doors were all boarded shut
And the storekeepers had closed their shops up
There wasn't anyone left around
Except for these guys
Who had guitars, and they had drums
And other instruments of wondrous sound"
Plans for the laundromat were thwarted by Joe Jr. and Frank when, along with childhood friend Pete Pelullo (who is in the construction business), built a stage, a bar, and with that Connie's Ric Rac was reborn.
At the time, Frankie had just moved back to South Philly after living for several years in New York City's Lower East Side. While working at Alltrue.com, he met and formed an acoustic folk rock duo with colleague Rob Ogus. They splashed on to an emerging Philadelphia acoustic singer songwriter scene and quickly made a name for themselves.
Even though the initially opened as a BYOB (and in great part contributing to it's awesome vibe), The Ric Rac became "the spot" to many of the areas up and coming musical artists. Many enjoyed late night jam sessions at Connie's, escorted back by Frank and Joe after Discount Heroes shows and open mic performances.
Frankie had also been performing comedy throughout the years, and many of his joke-making and sketch-performing cohorts also began called Connie's home. High profile national acts such as Hannibal Burress (SNL, 30 Rock), and Toddy Barry (Comedy Central, Flight of The Conchords) put the Ric Rac on the comedy map, and has hosted troupes such as Philly Improv Theatre (PHIT), The Sixth Borough (to which Frankie was a founding member), Bedtime Stories (Gregg Gethard, Chris' brother!) and Ministry of Secret Jokes (Doogie Horner).
After operating for 4 years as a BYOB, The Ric Rac expanded it's capacity and began serving bottled beer, wine and spirits. To this day, we continually strive to provide the best and most enjoyable experience to everyone who comes through our doors, including performers, guests, VIPs and staff. Plans for a kitchen next door are presently being executed and the opening is scheduled for early 2014.

Good times and live music ride again at Broad Street’s famous Boot and Saddle. Shuttered in 1995, this iconic landmark will re-open under the partnership between Sean Agnew’s R5 Productions, New York City’s The Bowery Presents and Mark Fichera on September 9th 2013 as a 150-person capacity live music venue and 60-seat restaurant.
While live music will pack the back room of the new Boot and Saddle beginning at 8pm some 150 nights of the year, a separate 60-seat main room and kitchen will be open seven days a week, from 5pm ‘til 2 am, featuring a full-service bar, 10 rotating local craft beers, seasonal beers from around the United States, as well as inexpensive domestic crowd favorites.
Under the direction of R5 Productions, concert-goers can look forward to this new destination hosting the day’s most exciting local and national artists across all genres, ranging from punk, metal and indie rock to electronic, singer-songwriters—and, yes, there will even be some country back at the Boot and Saddle – all experienced in an intimate back concert room featuring the same d&b Audiotechnik soundsystems that have earned Union Transfer consistent accolades as one of the city’s best sounding venues. This distinguishes Boot and Saddle as one of the only small-size room in US to boast this critically acclaimed soundsystem, guaranteeing the best experience for show-goers.
With all of these innovations and improvements, some elements of the old Boot and Saddle will still inform its new look. Preserving the venue’s original tin-ceiling and walls and hardwood floors, the new proprietors are pleased to maintain a welcoming, time-capsule décor—complete with folk-art cowboy murals—reflecting the building’s history as Philadelphia’s one-time only country bar. And, yes, the iconic neon sign stays, of course.
You can purchase tickets for Boot & Saddle shows online by clicking the TICKETS icon on any show page on our site to be taken to the Ticketfly site. Purchase tickets over the phone by calling Ticketfly directly at 877-4-FLY-TIX (877-435-9849). You can also purchase tickets for shows w/ NO SERVICE FEE at the Union Transfer box office (1026 Spring Garden Street) – open Friday and Saturday from 12pm-6pm, and every evening Union Transfer has a show from 5pm – close. If tickets do not sell out in advance, they will be sold at the door on the night of the show starting at 8pm. If you’re unsure, please call Boot & Saddle (267-639-4528) to inquire. We only accept CASH to purchase tickets in the venue. At the venue bar/restaurant – we accept most forms of payment. Cash is king, but we also accept American Express, MasterCard and Visa. We have an ATM on-site at the venue.
In addition to the Union Transfer box office, tickets are also available six days a week with NO SERVICE FEES at Philadelphia’s finest independent record store Long In The Tooth (2027 Sansom Street). Open from 12pm-7pm Tuesday through Thursday, 12-9pm Friday & Saturday and 12pm-6pm on Sunday. Tickets purchased at LITT are CASH ONLY.

Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts is ranked highly as a must visit venue that offers America’s original art form jazz on a regular basis. Founded in 1966 by James Adams and members of an African American musicians union Local #274, membership included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sara Vaughn, Sonny Stitt, Art Blakey, Dinah Washington, Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Shirley Scott, “Philly” Joe Jones, Tootie Heath, Jimmy Heath, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Grover Washington, Jr., and Nina Simone among others were in attendance.
The Music Education Programs began in 1985 as the Clef Club members began to recognize a decline in new and available Philadelphia jazz talent. Member-driven outreach initially included local musicians who volunteered their time and energy to teach jazz to local youth who were interested. By 1988 the Clef Club received a seed grant that helped to establish the initial Jazz Education efforts.
It moved to its present facility, a new four-story building on the Avenue of the Arts, in 1995. The Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts located at Broad and Fitzwater Streets, was the first new building in the city’s ambitious Avenue of the Arts development project. The new three-story building, houses a cabaret and performance space, archives, classrooms and rehearsal rooms. The William Penn Foundation was the first investor that made it possible for the Clef Club to be located on South Broad Street by providing operating and capital support.
Over the years, the Clef Club was a Lila Wallace Readers Digest National Jazz Network Site and presented a spring and fall season of jazz performances, workshops and residencies. The Clef Club hosted several distinguished Artists-in-Residence during its history including Bassist Larry Ridley, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation “Living Legacy Awardee,” saxophonist Oliver Lake, saxophonist Makonde McIntyre and jazz hip-hop workshops, all through The Coltrane Project.
Today, musicians such as Christian McBride, Joey Defrancisco, James Carter, George Burton, Sherry Wilson Butler, Monnette Sudler, Molyka Sanofa, Billy Paul, Bernard Purdie, Lou Cioci & Buddy Cifone, Larry McKenna, Brian Pasto, Ellen Gahnt, Tony Vicola, Michael Andrews and Roots of Music present concerts at the Clef Club.
Today, the Clef Club is part of Berklee School of Music’s Berklee City Music Network, utilizing a proprietary curriculum called the Berklee PULSE music method that is centered around present day music styles, the instruments that youth tend to select, and the incorporation of essential theoretic, listening, improvisational and performance skills.
It is through the education program and our performance ensemble and presenting program that we preserve the legacy and insure the future of this great American music.
The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts mission is to celebrate and preserve the legacy of jazz through education and to support the evolving form through public programs.
For more information, call 215-893-9912 (www.clefclubofjazz.org)

2nd State Lounge competes for the best pizza on South Street as well as other specialty items such as the Tom's Strom--named for the owner.
Upstairs allows you to continue the food and drink experience in a colonial, warm bar environment. Up there you can look forward to seeing some of Philly's finest local music and art.